Conveying system



Nov. 24, 1925. 1,562,987

H. w. NACH-:1.,-l

CONVEYING SYSTEM Filed July s. 1921 l 2 sheets-sheet 1l @ima Nov. 24, 1925- 1,562,987 H. W. NAGEL 4 CONVEYING SYSTEM Filed July a, 1921 2 sheet's-sheet 2 lll/IA `Patented Nov. 24, 1.925.

. uulTEosrATEs PATENr orr-icl-z.`l

HENRY W. NAGEL, oFI cnrcneo, ILLINaIs,l AssIeNon To 'rnou'as osx max, ILLINoIs. I

H. FERGUSON, F

CONVEYING sYsInII.

Application med July 8, 1931K. vSerial No. 483,201.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY' W2. NAGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyin Systems, of which the following is a speci cation.

The present invention relates to conveying systems of the type in which a bucket or like receptacle is automatically carried back and forth between loading and discharging points and on each trip receives and dis-- charges a load. Such systems are commonly elnployed in handling coal, grain, sand, and other materials and commodities.

One feature of my invention resides in novel means for automatically opening and closing the supply passage at the loading p'oint. In order to fill the bucket the pasto the bucket must be opened when the bucket is in position to receive its load and must be closed when the proper amount of material has been received Ainto the bucket. According to my invention the bucket passes close to the opening and as it does so operates a sliding door which travels in a path which is slightly inclined to the path of travel of the bucket. I make use of this difference in the paths of travel ofthe door and bucket to cause the bucket in its movement -to its loading position to open the door, and in its movement from that position to close the door.

Another feature of my invention resides in the use of continuous guides for directing the course of the bucket throughout its to and fro travel. 'lhese guides are in constant engagement with rollers upon the bucket and are positioned so as to lie lclose to each other throughout one portion of the travel of the bucket and are spaced farther apart during another portion of the travel of the bucket. Specifically, they are close where the travel is vertical and farther apart where the travel is inclined, the inclined travel being used to get the bucket in loading position beneath the supply pocket.

Another feature resides in so arranging the parts that the center of gravity of the bucket is above and to one side of the oint of attachment of thebail and in providing means for restraining the resulting tendcncy of the bucket to overturn. This arsage through which the material is supplied rangement contributes readily to the production of a simple structure.

Otherl features reside in the manner of dumping the bucket rotatin it with refer-v ence to its bail, the empoyment of an extra rail for the `bucket to travel on durmg a portion of its travel, the maintaining of the bail of the bucket always in a vertical position, and` other details and arrangements of parts which will be apparent u on a consideration of the .following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, while the sco e of the invention will be' particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It will be understood that my invention is capable of use in a variety of structures and for the handling of a variety of materials. However, the invention is particularly applicable to the handling ofcoal at coaling stations' of railroads and other coal users. I have, therefore, chosen to illustrate my invention as applied to a coaling station.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a coaling station employing a conveying system constructed and arranged in accordance with the resentv invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectlon of the bucket and associated parts the plane of section being indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. l; i Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the structure showing the bucket as it approaches the discharge point the plane of section being indicated by the line 3'-3vof Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the opening and gate at the lower end of the loading hopperthe plane of section being indicated by the line l--4 of Fig. l; Fig.

'5 is a detail View, partly in section, of the rollers and associated parts located at the pivotal point of the bucket the plane of'95 section being indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a similar View of the rollers and associated parts located near the top of the bucket the planeof section being indicated by the line 6 6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a detail view illustrating the bucket at the oint of starting to open the sliding door w ich controls the discharge opening of the supply hopper; and Fig. 8 is a similar view of the bucket and door at the point where the bucket begins to close the door. Throughout these views like characters refer to like parts.

material.

be let't to the Judgment of engineers and bucket'is elevated, and E the chute into which the bucket unloads its contents.

The pocket A and thepit C are preferably located below the ground line 10 whilethe tower D extends upwardly from the same, as clearly illustrated; Obviously, these elements ot the system may be variously constructed according to the principles ot building construction. Ordinarily, however, the pocket and pit would have their walls and lloor composed of concrete and the tower might be constructed of like These are matters which should others working in this ield. The pocket walls, designated 11, converge downwardly so as to carry the vmaterial to the discharge opening' 12, located at the bottom ot the pocket.. ',lhe pocket is preferably supplied with material trom cars, such as the car 13, which travel on rails 14 mountedl on girders 15 which span the pocket. Obviously, ot' course, the pocket might be supplied with material by other means. The opening 12 at the bottom of the pocket is provided with a spout 16 which is constructed with sheet metal walls 17 which are secured to the concrete structure of the pocket walls 11 by angle irons 18 or other suitable means. Two outer walls 17 of the spout 16 are provided with channels 19 which have their flanges extending outwardly. These channels scrve as tracks upon which the roller 2() ot the gate 21 are adapted to travel. It will be noted thatthe rollers 20 almost fill the space between the langes ot the channels 19. lhc door 2l lits loosely upon the end of the spout, and the rollers 2O may sometimes bear upon the lower tia-nge and sometimes upon the upper flange, as it is shoved back and forth. In either'case, there is no objectionable engagement between the door 21 and the ends of the walls 17 of the spoilt 16. Al' all times there is rolling frietional engagement and, consequently, the door 21 is moved freely to and fro; As will be seen, the opposite sides ot' the door 21 are provided with lugs 22 which are turned up to torni bearings` for the rollers 20. By this construction the interior of the spout 16 is clear ot obstructions and a satisfactory action is obtained as the'door is reciprocated. At this pointit may also be noted that the under side of the door is provided with a Ushaped strip 23 which forms an abutment against which the end of the bucket B is adapted to strike as the bucket forces the door open. A hook 24 is mounted upon a pivot 25 which extends between the legs ot theJU-shaped member 23. 'lhe downward movement of this hook is limited by a stop pin 2G which extends between the, same legs. The point ot' the hook is adapted to be engaged by the lower wall ot the bucket l5 as the latter moves upwardly. 'lhe continued movement of the bucket by drawing upon the hook 24 closes the door 21. 1t may also be mentioned at this point that due to the downward convergence of the paths ot' travel of the door 21. and the bucket B the kdatter will justescape from the point of the hook 24 at the time the door 21 reaches its closed position. f

The bucket B consists of a container or receptacle 27 and a bail 28. The latter con- .sists of two upright channels 2!) and a transverse channel 30, which are secured 'together in any approved manner. lEach side of the container 27 is provided with a frame, preferably composed otl angle irons, consisting of the arcuate member 31 and the radial members 32 and 33. The latter, in each instance, radiate from the center oi the pivots 34 which lie in the pivotal axis ot the bucket. As shown more particularly in Fig. 5, pivot 34 is rigidly secured to the container 27 so as to rotate with it. This construction may be brought about in any desired wav. lh the instance illustrated, the pivot .34 is squared and passes through a squared opening in a casting 35 which is suitably secured, as by rivets 86, to the wall ot' the container 27. The inner end ot' the pivot 234 is threaded andpreceives a nut 37. When the nut screwed down tight against the shoulder ot the pivot the parts are tirmly held in place. It desired tov still further secure the pivot 34 against longitudinal movement, a pin 38 may be driven through an opening in the boss i the casting 35 and into a similar openingin the pivot 34. 'lhe opposite end ot the pivot 534 is reduced in diameter to 'lorm a journal i'or a friction roll 3%) which is held in place by any suitable means such as the cotter pin 40. At an intermediate point in its length the pivot 34 passes through a sleevev 41 which carries an arm 42. Since the pivot 34 is squared and the opening through the sleeye 41 is similarly squared, it willbe seen that thearm 42 will rotate with the pivot 34. At the outer end ot the arm 42 I provide a friction roller 43 which is mounted vupon a journal pin 44 which passes through a boss 45 at the outer end ofv the arm 42 and is held in iosition by a. nut 46 screwed on to its threa ed end. The sleeve 41 passes freely through an opening in the channel 29 and the latter is provided with a bearing block 47 which is secured to the channel by any suitable means as, for eX- ample, the rivets 48. The block 47 serves as a bearing for the boss 41, that is to say, as a n bearing for the pivot 34 and the parts which move with it. In this way a substantial pivotal connection is made between tllelcontainer 27 and the bail 28.

Passing now to a consideration of the rollers mounted near the topv of the container 27, as viewed in Fig. 1, we have the structure illustrated in Fig. 6. As there shown, the channel 29 is provided with a metal block 49 which is secured to the channel by any suitable means, as rivets 50.

This block is turned down at one end to form a journall for a friction roller 52 which is held in place b som'e such means as the cotter pin 53. T e opposite end of the block is similarl turned down to form a journal 54 for a lriction roller 55 which is likewise held in place by a cotter pin 56. The under side of the container 27 is also provided with a double flanged wheel or roller 57. This roller may have any suitable mounting and need not be particularly illustrated or described. It will be seen that the friction roller 52 lies close to the container 27 and in position to engage thel member 3l of the frame on the outside of the container. This same wheel will engage the members 32 and 33 at the ends of the rotation of the container about its pivot 34. These men'ibers 32 and 38 by thus engaging the wheel 52 serve as stops to limit the rotation of the container in either direction about its pivot. lil/'hen the bucket is in loading position the wheel 52 will engage member 33. `When the bucket is in discharging position the wheel 52 will engage member 32. The channel 30,

which forms the upper member of the bail 28, is provided with-means for the attachment of the hoisting cable 58. In the pres- 'ent instance, the cable is shown as passing through a U-bolt secured to the channel Passing now to a consideration of the guides and track for controlling the movement of the bucket B, we find that the same .include a central, inclined rail 59 `and upper and lower guides (30 and 6l. There is a pair of guides GO and Gl at each side of the bucket `and these guides extend throughout the entire length of travel of the bucket. As clearly shown in Fig. l, these guides are close together, and vertically disposed in that-portion of the path of travel which lies in the tower D, butthey are spaced apart and inclined in that portion of the travel which is in the pit C. It will be seen that each upper friction roller 55 engages the under side of a guide G0,A whereas each lower friction roller 39 engages the upper side of a guide 61. At

this point it maybe mentioned that these y guides may be of any preferred construction, although shown in the present instance as angle lrons, and they may be secured is parallel to the guides (i0 and 4(il at the point where they are inclined and does not extend out of the pit'C. Itis upon this track that the roller 57 travels as the bucket is being conveyed through the inclined portion of its travel.

It will be seen that by spacing the guides 60 and 6l in the way illustrated, that is to say, at a vertical distance slightly greater than the vertical distance between the centers of the rollers 39 and 55, the bail 28 may be kept in a vertical osition While traveling `through the inc ined portion of the travel. With the construction shown the center of gravity of the container, both when loaded and unloaded, is to the Jleft of the vertical plane passing through the bale 28 as the arts are viewed in Fig.

1. Because of tris position of the center of gravity the tendency of the bucket is to rotate to the left This, of course is resisted by the rollers 55 engaging the under sides of the guides 60. Any tendency of the bail 28 to depart from its vertical position, due to the application of force to the cable 58, is prevented by the engagement of the roller 57 with the track 59. A. continued pull on the cable 58, when the bucket is 'in loading position, will therefore result in moving the bucket along the guides 60, 6l and the track 59 until the parts reach the dotted line position indicated at 62. lVhen this position is reached the rollers 55 alnd 39, still in verti- .cal aligmnent, pass upwardly between the .side walls 63, an end wall (S4 and a bottom (55. This leaves the container free to discharge its contents into the chute E when it has been rotatedabout its pivotal point. The latter action is brought about by providing inclined cams 66 in the path of travel on each side of the bucket. These cams are located just below the discharge point and each engages the associated roller 43 on the arm 42 which, it will be `remembered, moves with the container 27. As the bucket moves upwardly, the cams G6, which are inclinedupwardly toward the guides G1, force the wheels 48 downward towards the guide (il, and in this way the cams rotate the arms 42 and cause the container 27 to move far enough to carry its center of gravitybeyond the vertical plane through its pivotal point and thus cause it to dump. By

about the pivot point reason of the location of the cams this does not occur until the container is moved far enough to discharge its contents into the chute E. It will be noted that in this position, as in previous positions, the bail remains upright. rllio position of the bucket., a little before the cams (3(3 iii-st come into play, is shown in dotted lines in Fig. l as indicated at (S7. 'lhe position ol the bucket when dumped is similarly shown in dot-ted lines as indicated at (38. lVhen in this position it willbe seen that the container strikesy against a roller (35) located at the entrance to the chute E. As soon as the bail begins to move downwardly, and this is arranged to occur as soon as the bucket has been dumped, the container 27 will ride on the roller (59 until it has rotated about its pivot far enough to bring its center of gravity beyond the plane of the bail and then the container will return by gravity to its normal position.

The cable 58 passes over a sh'eave 'T0 which is suitably journaled upon supporting I beams 7l near the top ot the tower l). After passing over the sheave T0, the cable will extend to the drum of a suitable hoisting mechanism, as is commonly employed in systems of this kind. The latter may be ot any well-known construction, and as the saine forms no part of the present invention need not be shown or described.

As the bucket is lowered to its lowerii'ig position it will travel along the inclined path established by the rail 59 and the guides (3() and (3l. As previously noted, this path of travel and the path of travel of the gate 2l are., with reference to each other, downwardly convergent. '.lhe parts are also so located that the uppei' edge of the container passes very close to the gate 21. As indicated .more particularly in Figs. 7 and 8, the rear wall (Hf of the container 27, as the bucket passes downwardly. engages the abutment 23 on the gate 2l and, by reason' of' the Weight ot' the bucket, the gate 2l is forced open notwitlistanding the pressure exerted against it by the materials in the pocket A. '.llie bucket is brought lo a stop when reaching the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8, and is then in position to be loaded. Indeed, as the gate opens the inaterial flows through the spout 16 into the container 2T. As soon as the. bucket starts on its return, the rear edge 64 of the container 2T will engage the hook 24, as indicated in Fig. 8, and the continued advance of the bucket in an upward direction will carry the gate 2l along with it cutting through the material and finally closing the opening of the spout 1G. As soon as the gate is moved to its fully closed position, the rear edge G4 ot' the container` will have reached the dotted line position of Fig. T and, as there shown, the hook will just clear the end of the bucket at this point and the bucket will continue on its course without further action upon the gate.

Obviously, the parts heretofore described ma be variously arranged and supported. rlliese details of the building structure by which the various parts would be supported are not shown'in detail, as it is believed the saine are wholly unnecessary to a disclosure of the present invention. At this point attention may be called to the tact that the cable 58 in its passage from the pit C to the tower l), passes over a pulley 73 located upon a transverse member 74 of the frame ot' the building. In other arrangements of the parts, other guiding means might be similarly employed.

1n carrying out my invention', it will be apparent that many alterations and modilications may be made in the specific structure disclosed Without departing fronrthe spirit and scope of my invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the details of construction and the specilic arrangements herein disclosed but aim to cover, by the terms of the claims, all such altera-- tions and modifications as i rightly come within the scope o'l in v invention.

lVliat I claim new and desire to secure by Letters latent of the United States, is:

l. A conveying system including a pocket having a discharge opening atv a low point through which material may pass from the pocket by gravity, a {iat reciprocating door movable in its own plane in a direction inclined to the vertical, guides extending from a receiving position, below said opening inv a like inclined direction beyond the limits of said pocket and then vertically to a dumping position, a bucket container, a bucket bail connected to said container below and to one side of the center of gravity olf said container so as to give it a tendency to overturn toward said pocket, stop means for limiting vthe movement of the container relative to the bail in that diriaftioii, means cooperating with said guides to maintain said bail upright in its travels with the bucket container to and fro between said receiving and dumping positions, the paths of travel of said door and container being slightly convergent downward at said receiving position, means dependent upon said convergence acting between said door and a .near portion of said container to open said door as said container moves downward and to close said door as said container moves upward, and means for preventing said container from being moved about its connection to said' bail in a direction away froinsaid pocket as a result of the engagement of said door with said container during the latters downward movement.

2. A conveying system including a pocket liaving a discharge opening at a low point through which material may pass from the pocket by gravity, a flat reciprocating door movable in its own plane in a direction inclin'ed to thc vertical, guides extending from a receiving position below said opening in a like inclined direction beyond the limits of said pocket and then verticali to a dumping position, a `bucket container, a bucket bail connected to said container below and to one side of the center of gravity of said container so as to give it a tendency to overturn toward'said pocket,stop means for limiting the movement of the container relative to the bail in that direction, (means cooperatingl with said guides to maintain said bail' upright in its travels with the bucket container to and fro between said'v receiving and dumping positions, the paths of travel of said door and container being slightly convergent downward at said receiving position, an abutment on said door engaged by the end wall of said container as it moves to said receiving position to force said door open, a pivoted hook on said door engaged bythe end wall of said container as it moves away fromsaid receiving position to draw said door shut, a stop for limiting the downward movement of said hook whereby said container is freed from said door after the latter has been fully shut, due to the divergence upward of the paths of travel of said container and door, an inclined rail extending in a direction parallel to that of the inclined portion of said guides, and a roller on said container for traveling on said rail as the container moves through the inclined portion of its path of travel,lsaid roller and rail thereby preventing said container from being moved about its connection to said bail in a direction away from said pocket as a result of the engagement of said door with said container during the latters downward movenient.

3. In a conveying system, a pocket having an inclined lower wall provided with an opening through which material may pass from the pocket by gravity, a rectangular spout at said opening having its axis perpendicular to the plane of said wall, channels extending substantially parallel to said wall and secured to the outside of parallel walls of said spout with the flanges extending outward, a flat door having upturned lugs adjacent to and outward of said channels, rollers journaled in said lugs and riding between and upon said fianges, an abutment on the under side of said door approximately midway between the planes of said channels, a pivoted hook on said abutment extending in a plane parallel to theplanes of said channels, a stop on said abutment-for limiting the downward movement of said hook, and a bucket container 'of the lower guides an movable alon r a path converging downward slightly relative tothe path of travel of said door and. consequentl relative to the channel flanges, said door aving an end adapted to engage said'abutment to force said door open and to be engaged by said hook to draw said door' shut, the hookand end being drawn apart, because of the divergent paths of the door and bucket, as soon as said door reaches its fully closed position. 4. In a conveying system, a bail and container, two vertically aligned rollers on each side of said bail, two guides on each side of the path of travel of said bail in position to continuously engage with Said rollers, said guides being vertical, parallel and close together at their upper ends and inlined, parallel and spaced apart at their lower ends a distance somewhat less than the distance between said upper and lower rollers, said rollers beinv vertically aligned in all positions of said bail and engaging said guides indiiierently as they'travel along them where vertical and the upper rollers engaging only the under side of the upper guides where inclined and the lower rollers engaging onlythe upper side of the lower guides where inclined, and means for tilting said container relative to saidl bail without disturbing the vertical alignment of the rollersthereon.

l3.1m a conveying system, a bucket container, a bucket bail connected to the'con- .tainer below and to one side of the center of y gravity of the container so as to give a tendency to overturn in one direction, stop means for limiting the movement of the container relative' to the bail in that direction, upper and lower rollers on each side of the bail', a pair of guides cooperating with the rollers on each side of the bail, which guides are inclined upwardly and oppositely to said first mentioned direction, and spaced apart so that the upper rollers engage only the under sides of the upper guides and the lower rollers ride only u on the upper sides tained vertical thereby, means for rocking the container relative to the bail in a direction opposite to said first mentioned direction to dump the saine, and stop means on the bail and container for limiting the .movementof the latter relative to the former as the container is moved to dumping osition.

6. In a conveying system, a buc (et container, a bucket bail connected to the container below and to one side of the center of gravity of the container so as to give a tendency to overturn in one direction, stop means for limiting the movement of the containei relative to the bail in that direction,

an inclined rail extending upwardly in thel opposite direction, a roller on said container for traveling on said rail as the container and bail are drawn upward along said rail,

the bail is mainabove said inclined rail'and positioned on op osite sides of said container and bail, and means on said bail for en aging said guides on the under side thereo to prevent the container from rising from said rail by reason of its tendency to overturn.

. 7. In a conveying system, a bucketcontainer, a bucket bail connected to the container below and to one side of the center of gravity of the container so as to give a tendency to overturn in one direction, stop means for limiting the movement of the container relative to the bail in that direction, an inclined rail extending upwardly in the opposite direction, a roller on said container for traveling on said rail as the container is drawn upward along said rail, upper and lower rollers on each side of the bail, a pair of guides cooperating with the rollers on each side of the bail, which guides extend parallel to said rail and are spaced apart so y reason of its said tendency to overturn,

means for rocking the container relative to the bail to dump the same in a direction opposite to said iirst mentioned direction, and stop means on the bail and container for limiting the dumping -movement of the latter relative to the former.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 28th day of June, A; D. 1921.

y HENRY w. NAGEL. 

